Improvement in railroad rails



VA. DEAN C. COLEMAN.

y Railroad Rails.

Patentd Feb' 18, 18731,? 1

.3 70 3 gu. N

'lm/ENTORS WITNESSES.V

. f 6 www,

AM pHoro-mmsmpmc ca mc (assums macsss) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ANDREW B. DEAN AND THOMAS C. COLEMAN, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD RAILS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 136,043, dated Februaryi8,4 1873.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that We, A. B. DEAN and THOMAS C. COLEMAN, of Louisville, inthe county of J eierson and State of Kentucky, have invented a new andvaluable Improvement-in Railroad Rails; and we do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact 1 description oftheconstruction and operation of the same, reference being had to theannexed Adrawing making a part of this specification, and to the lettersand iigures of reference marked thereon. A

Figure l ofthe drawing is a representation of a perspective view of ourrail. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same, showing attachmenttosleeper.

This invention has relation to railroad rails; and it consists in thenovel construction of the rail, whereby it is provided with an innerdownwardly extending or vertical bearingtlan ge, and an outer horizontalfastening flange, the tread being above and between the llanges, ashereinafter described.

The object ofthe present invention is to provide a rail with anextension bearing-surface which will resist the tendency to curl upwardin the vertical direction; the weight of metal being economized tocompare favorably with rails of other form now in use. 4

The general form of this rail may be described as Fshaped. It\donsistsof rib or body A of considerable thickness, somewhat rectangular incross sectibn, extending' upward, and rounded suitabliy at its upperedges to form the tread of the rail. l The inner face B of the rail isvertical, or nearly so, and is continuous with the inner face of ,thevertical flange C, which extends downwardfrom the inner portion lof thebody A throughout the length of the rail. The outer face D of thisflange extends obliquely upward and outward to the middle portion of thebase of the body of the rail. The base of the rail is extended outwardby the broad horizontal iian ge E, which extends outwardv from thelower` p0rtion of the lbody of the rail. This flange is perforated.obliquely at suitable Vpoints F for the passage of the fastening-spikesH. These perforations are situated in the curved an gular surface G ofthe outer face of the rail'body, where itjoins the horizontal ange, sothat the head of the spike will be in close contact with the metal ofthe rail on both sides when driven obliquely and inwardly, in the mannerindicated in the drawing.

The rails above described may be laid upon stringers for streetrailroads, or immediately on the cross-ties, the latter being properlynotched for the reception of the vertical flan ge or stem of each rail.

Thel advantages of this rail are as follows: Its form issuch that it isnot liable to spread. It has a very large bearingsurface compared withthe weight of the rail. flange keeps the treadA in its position,prevent-- ing lateral deviation, and at the same time strengthens therail to resist the upward cnrl` ing or the formation of snake-heads.There are no obstructions on the inner side of the rail inthe shape ofspike-heads or other fastening devices, the rails being secured by thespikes passing through the outer or horizontal flange. Thefasteningspike acts in connectionwith the vertical flan ge or stem ofthe rail as a clamp, securing the rail to the stringeror tie in a verydurable manner. The position of the stem immediately under the inner ortread portion of the body of the rail gives it great strength and rmnessto resist the weight of the heaviest vrolling-stock.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The railroad rail, consisting of the body A forming the tread, the innervertical tapering ange O, and. the outer horizontal iiange E, allconstructed and arranged as` specified.

In testimony that we claim the above we have hereunto subscribed ournames in the presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW B. DEAN. THOMAS C. COLEMAN; Witnesses:

E. R.-COLEMAN, R. M. SNYDER.

The vertical

